


Paper Hearts

by heartmarch



Series: Paper Hearts Verse [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Awkwardness, M/M, Office, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2020-10-17 09:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20618765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartmarch/pseuds/heartmarch
Summary: Dan's tired of working the same shitty jobs to make the same shitty pay and he begrudgingly takes a position as a medical coder. What happens when he can't figure out the programs and has to call IT over and over?





	1. Chapter 1

“Thank you for calling technical support this is Phil how can I help you?"

"oh uh hey Phil it's Dan again I think I pushed the wrong button and the whole excel file went away?"

Phil suppressed a sigh at the third phone call today from the new guy

"No prob bob I'll be right over"

He hung up the phone and started down the hallway to the other side of the building, lightly tapping the wall as he walked. As he approached the coding room, he scanned his badge and made his way through the maze of cubicles until he saw a man biting the side of his nail and staring at the computer.

"Dan?" Phil questioned quietly, trying to get the older mans attention

"Oh hi!" Dan said, frantically moving his chair to the side so Phil could see his screen

"Oh ok, this is an easy fix. Just give me a second" Phil bent over the guys' desk and opened up design mode, quickly altering the code written to fix the sheet.

"There ya go, good as new. Oh, before I forget, let me give you my email and then if you have any more questions just screenshot them and send them to me. Phone calls are difficult for me cause I'm hard of hearing." He explained in a low voice before grabbing a sticky note and jotting it down

"Now you can reach me directly"

Dan just nodded and apologized for having him come down again

"I really don't understand any of this Excel stuff..." Dan muttered looking at the screen

Phil laughed a little "That's alright that's why they hired me I think"

He winked and walked out of the room, headed back to his office on the opposite side of the building. He settled into his chair and started working on fixing other minor issues until it was time for lunch. He clocked out and quickly walked down to the lunchroom, taking his lunch bag out of the company fridge and finding a chair in the sea of tables. He took out his yogurt and popped in his earbuds, catching up on YouTube.

He finished up his lunch and headed back to his office, sighing as he stared at the clock. God this day was slow. His phone rang and he grabbed it quickly, using his best customer service voice

"Thank you for calling technical support, this is Phil, how can I help you"

"hi uh haha it's me again, Dan I mean… how do I take a screenshot?" 

"just go to the search bar and look up 'snipping tool' it should come right up"

"oh ok thanks, sorry"

Dan hung up quickly and Phil returned to his work, a small smile on his face when he realized Dan spoke up so he could hear. 

Phil unlocked his front door and threw his backpack down, collapsing on the sofa after a long day. His cat, Persephone, came rubbing up against his leg. 

"You just want food don't you babe?" He laughed at the cat who looked at him with slight distaste

"Alright come on buddy let's grab you and me some dinner, yeah?"

He slipped out of his shoes and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a pan.

"Omelettes sound ok?"

Persephone just jumped up on the stool that was near the counter, placed specifically for him. 

"Ham or turkey? I'm thinking about turkey. We had ham the other night. Honestly, we eat too many omelets."

He meowed as he worked through making their dinner. He made himself an omelet and made Persephone a mini one to go with his normal food

Phil grabbed his favorite cup and poured some water and then went to settle in the living room, switching on the TV and eating his dinner. 

"Ya know pudding pop, I'm gonna head to bed soon do you wanna come?"

The cat just continued to lick his paw clean of egg, uninterested in his. He laughed and headed towards his bedroom, slipping on his jammies and getting in bed. 

Dan stepped through the garage, throwing his bag down and greeting his tank of fish

“Hello, friends!!” He tapped the glass gently, getting their attention before sprinkling in their dinner. He walked through his door, putting on the TV and stripping off his work clothes, stepping into his pajamas and grabbing a frozen dinner. He watched it spin around the microwave and sighed as the sounds of the TV were the only thing to accompany him yet again.  
He barely ate the meal, staring blankly at the TV. She decided to reach out to his friends and sent a message to the group chat

DH: Hey guys,,, am sad,, ughh  
PEtertheWeinIER: wats wrong babe  
DH: just sad,, big lonely dumb house  
PSYCHOBABE: hang in there <3  
Siple: :((( you have a WONDERFUL house  
PEtertheWeinIER: uve seen his houze???  
Siple: no but I know  
PEtertheWeinIER: HOW??? He cld live in a boxx

Dan put his phone down, already tired of his friends. He just wanted someone to come home to. Everything sucked and he decided just to go to bed. 

Phil pulled on his jacket. He grabbed his lunch and headed out to make the drive to work. It was only a few minutes from his house, but he still left early every day. Something was calming about being up before the sun and the bustle of 8 am traffic. He pulled into his usual parking spot at 6:30 and made his way to his office, smiling at his custodian friend he always saw.

Phil stopped by the fridge, dumping his lunch on the bottom shelf before he went to the third floor and to his office, scanning his badge to get in. He paused for a second, looking out the window.

"Maybe today won't be so terrible," he thought, settling into his chair. 

Dan hopped in the shower around 8 am, groggy from tossing and turning all night. He washed quickly and got out, brushing his short pink hair. It stuck up in every direction whether he liked it or not, so he left it and went to find something to wear. 

He decided on a pair of jeans, cuffing them at the ankle, and his favorite blue shirt. He grabbed a bag of pop tarts and went to his car, heading to work.

He arrived just before 9 and walked to the cubicle hell he occupied for forty hours a week. He was still unsure about the layout of the new building, even after three weeks of working here he wasn't even sure where the break room was. He put his bag down and clocked in, hoping he could just get through today. 

Dan looked at his excel progress sheet. He was supposed to record everything he coded throughout the day on this and he kept messing it up. What had the IT guy said about the pivot table? How did he make it show today's numbers? The cursor blinked at him and he couldn't feel more stupid if he tried. Why couldn't he remember this simple thing? Maybe medical coding wasn't for his. Maybe he's just not cut out for it. 

He's pulled out of his thoughts suddenly when he sees a group of people walking through the hallway in suits. He watches them stride along, talking softly to each other as they head to the conference room. Thank God he wasn't an executive, it looked too stuck up. 

Dan looked back at his computer and sighed. He took a screenshot and sent an email to the IT guy.

Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 9:45am  
From: DHowell@companyhealth.com  
To: PLester@companyhealth.com  
Subject: Help?

Hey! 

it's Dan again. I'm really sorry but can you look at the attached? I'm so lost. I know you told me I just don't remember anymore

Sorry!  
Dan

He clicked back into the system and started coding again, just writing down what he was doing on a sticky note till he could get some help. 

Dan's email notification popped up a short time later and he clicked on it, seeing it was from IT.

Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 10:04 am  
From: DHowell@companyhealth.com  
To: PLester@companyhealth.com  
RE: Subject: Help?

Good morning!! 

I attached a document explaining, but basically, you just right click and hit refresh and filter in the day you want to see. 

I hope this helps, if not I'm extension 127 so just dial me directly and I'll come over. 

Thanks!!  
Phil :) 

Dan could honestly hit himself. Of course, that was it, how could he forget. She quickly updated the sheet and sighed, taking out his second pop tart.

Hours ticked by without his notice and he eventually decided his hunger was taking him over. He walked down the hall, headed to his car and sighed as he got in. 

He went to the same fast food place he always did and got the same burger that he ate in his car before heading back. He listened to his favorite music and looked out of his window as he sat in the parking lot of the office. 

He eventually headed towards his desk when he heard someone crying in the conference room. He walked towards the noise, running over his break to see if the person was alright. Dan peeked around the corner just in time to see someone crouched in the back of the conference room, curled up with their head on their knees. It looked like they were on the phone but it was dark in the room and he could barely see. He tried to hear what the person was saying through their sobs

"I just don't understand why you're saying that I didn't do anything I swear I'm so sorry I promise I'll come right over just please believe-"

He heard more broken sobs coming from the room and he realized that whatever was happening was extremely personal so he tiptoed away and went to his desk as quickly as possible. It was only then that he realized he knew that voice.


	2. Chapter 2

Phil made his way to the lunchroom, having had a stressful day already. Everything was just stressful. He was opening up his lunch bag when his phone rang. It was Elli, his boyfriend

"Hey, Elli Belly how are you?" He said in a cheerful tone, zipping back up his lunch to go find somewhere more quiet to talk. 

"So when were you gonna tell me?"

"Tell you what, love?"

"I know you're cheating on me don't fuck around"

Phil was taken aback but it wasn't the first time the accusation had been thrown at him. Elli seemed to always be suspicious of the time Phil spent at work because Elli didn't have a job. He tried not to breathe a sigh at having this conversation again. 

"I'm not love bug, why would you think that?" He questioned quietly, dipping into an empty conference room 

"I saw you're texting someone besides me I know what you're doing" He huffed, getting very close to screaming 

"Who are you talking about? I didn't text anybody last night I just went to bed" Phil said as he sunk to the floor of the conference room, ready for the fight

"You're LYING!" He screamed and promptly hung up. 

Slow tears started to well up in Phil's eyes he'd been so unhappy for so long with Elli. It was like he only knew how to talk in screams. It bugged Phil to no end but he desperately wanted to make it work. This is why he refused to live with Elli, he needed his distance as much as Elli needed time to brood. Phil dialed Elli again and as soon as he picked up, Phil started talking

"Look Elli I'm sorry I- I just don't understand why you're saying that I didn't do anything I swear I'm so sorry I promise I'll come right over just please believe-" He was cut off by Elli hanging the phone up again in an angry huff. Phil knew Elli’d be over it by tomorrow but it didn't make it hurt any less to feel so alone. He tried to wipe his eyes and get up quickly off the floor. He grabbed his lunch bag and headed to his office, exhausted and no longer hungry.

It had been a week since Dan heard Phil crying in the conference room. He hadn't so much as sent him an email in that time, feeling guilty for what he overheard. He wondered if Phil had seen him or heard him, he'd never forgive Dan if he knew. 

Dan struggled to get through the day. He didn't understand Excel any better and his productivity was down. He couldn't lose another job over this so he picked up his phone and dialed IT quickly to get it over with. 

"Thank you for calling technical support this is Brandon how can I help you?"

"Oh uh sorry I was trying to reach Phil"

"He's not here anymore can I help you?"

"uh, nevermind I'll just email him thanks!"

Dan quickly opened his email and typed out a quick message

Friday, May 10th, 2019 11:04 am  
From: DHowell@companyhealth.com  
To: PLester@companyhealth.com  
Subject: Help?

Hey!

I'm still having some trouble and I called the help desk and you weren't there… I guess I should have used your extension. Anyway haha, could you pop over when you have time?

Thanks!!  
Dan

He looked at the clock and waited for an answer. He was so worried he had fucked it all up

Phil hated these stupid meetings. All the stuffy talk when it could have been accomplished in an email. Nothing was gained from getting together in person except the free donuts.

He watched his boss drone on and on about absolutely nothing and stared at the wall clock, begging it to be noon already. He'd take work over this. 

His phone buzzed and he secretly checked it under the table. He saw a short message from Dan who works in coding. As good of an excuse as any to leave early he guessed 

"Gentleman I'm so sorry I have an urgent matter to attend to, please excuse me." He said, quickly grabbing his donut and looking at his assistant "Please take notes and remind me to the main topics when I get back"

He rushed out of the room, headed towards the coding cubicles. His shoes clipped against the floors and he made his way to the back of the coding room, tapping the man on the shoulder. He gave him a bright smile

"You called ?"

Dan looked up startled, "oh uh yeah sorry I called the desk you weren't there- wait why are you in a suit?" The man looked him up and down noticing the leopard print dress shoes

Phil blushed a little, embarrassed he hadn't changed, "oh just the dress code for the meetings is business formal. I do enjoy a bit of rebellion in my shoes though" He said, pointing his foot out and grabbing an empty chair so he could sit next to Dan. Dan scooted over, trying to make room, but the cubicle was so small they were still pretty smashed together.

"I don't uh- I don't work in IT I was just helping them cause Brandon was out"  
She said, looking anywhere but Dan. Why did he feel so awkward looking at the man's legs so close to his? He shook it off, looking at Dan with a smile.

Dan cleared his throat, "The only people I know that wear suits are the executive managers I see walking past sometimes"

Phil met his eyes quickly and then looked away "Yeah that's where I work. I have to say though, I like IT better" He gave a quiet laugh before looking at Dan's desktop "So what's giving you fits?"

"um, just kinda the whole thing I don't get it. maybe we could start at the top?" He muttered, opening a new sheet 

"Hm yeah, that's probably for the best. Let me get some data going" Phil said, typing quickly into the Excel sheet "So what I like to do is just make your data a table cause it just makes it easier to manage. I know it's like an extra step but I just prefer it"

Dan was taking notes on a sticky pad as he watched Phil click around showing him how to work a pivot table and why they broke sometimes

They worked side by side for hours, going over all the details twice so that Dan had time to understand. Phil turned out to be a decent teacher at these things and not in a rush to leave the cramped space. He sighed as their session came to its natural conclusion and looked at the clock

"oh! it's one. I have to get going to lunch now, sorry." he stood up abruptly and moved the chair back to where it was and smoothed his suit pants down, frowning at the creases. "it was nice to see you" he smiled at Dan, realizing he'd had more fun here than he had all week. 

Dan looked confused for a second but quickly smiled "yeah you too, thank you" 

Phil walked out of the room, smiling quietly to himself as he made his way back to his office


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING THIS I HAVE BEEN SCREAMING FOR DAYS OK ANYWAY

Dan slipped his phone out of his pocket as he walked towards his car to go to lunch. He saw that his friend group chat had blown up throughout the day and he skimmed through the messages to catch up with it. Then he typed out a message quickly to them asking how they were before driving to the local sub shop that he frequented.

After he arrived and ordered he found a quiet back corner of the room to wait for his food. He picked up his phone again and started texting his friends about how the day had gone 

mrtrainman(peter): you LIKE him  
PSYCHOBABE: oh my god you spent the whole day with him??????  
Siple: what is wrong with youfjdsakfjdsl; ask him out

Dan laughed to himself as his food arrived and he thanked the server. He went back to typing into the group chat

JB: guys he’s with someone remember when i heard him on the phone   
mrtrainman(peter): that means NOTHING babes if they’re making you cry it’s NOT love  
Siple: tbh agree^^^  
JB: we literally don't even know if he’s gay CHILL   
PSYCHOBABE: but like….. Go For It

Dan rolled his eyes and put his phone down, grabbing his sandwich and eating it quickly, scrolling through his tumblr and looking at different videos of animals. He sighed as he looked at the time. Time to go back to work. 

She cleaned up his trash and got back into his car sighing as he started it up. She groaned as he realized he had four more hours of work to finish before he could go home. Dan left the parking lot and made the drive back to work looking for a parking space as he was about to be late clocking back in. He smiled at the receptionist as he walked into the building after parking. He was quick up the stairs and made it to his desk. He was slightly late clocking in but it was fine he would just stay a little later.

Later that night after he got off work, Phil drove home, grabbing dinner on the way. He didn't feel like cooking tonight. He parked in the garage below his apartment complex and started up the stairs. He waved to some of his neighbors before opening his front door and greeting his cat. 

"Hello, sir Persephone how are we today?"

He continued licking his paw without looking at him and he kept talking to the cat as he set down the food he picked up. He slumped down onto the couch and opened his sandwich. 

"Another very boring day of meetings. I don't know how they can listen to themselves talk about nothing and act like we're making progress" He said through a mouth full of sandwich, peeling off his suit jacket. The cat glanced up at his as if to call him a hypocrite for his constant ramblings to him. Persephone meowed and curled up next to him on the sofa while he ate. 

Phil opened his eyes, glancing at his alarm clock. It was around 9 am from what he could tell. He grabbed his phone and stretched up, disturbing Persephone. He uncurled and moved to the bottom of the bed with a huff. He started scrolling through Instagram because it was a Saturday and he had nowhere to be. His phone started ringing suddenly and he picked it up. 

"Hello?"  
"Hey Phil it's Alex, can we go to brunch? We need to talk"   
"Uh, yeah, are you ok?" he said, stripping back his sheets and looking for his pants   
"Oh yeah, it's just important. See you at Waffle House in like ten minutes"

Alex hung up the phone and Phil threw it down on his bed pulling on clothes quickly. What could Alex possibly need at this hour? 

He pet Persephone's head before grabbing his keys and rushing out the door to his car. He drove quickly and made it to waffle House as Alex was pulling up. He walked in with her and as they sat down Alex causally ordered two coffees and then turned to Phil, who looked rather pale. 

"So it's about Elli. I feel like you guys just aren't good for each other ya know? He's kinda pushing you around."

"oh well, I'm I don't know he's really nice he just has little outbursts sometimes. I'm glad he yells at me instead of someone important."  
Phil said as the waitress approached with his coffee. He stirred in the creamer quickly and took a sip, shuddering from the bitter taste.  
"He always says he sorry after so it's not a big deal. I don't want to upset him honestly."

Alex sighed and looked out the window  
"I just don't know if he's the one for you, Phil. He's a lot sometimes."

Phil just looked at her curiously but was interrupted by the waitress asking for their orders. He ordered a waffle with extra chocolate chips and milk. He looked back at Alex as the waitress left

"Why the sudden interest anyway, we hardly talk about him. It's not like we're even that close. Not that we're not friends!" Phil blushed realizing how rude he had sounded but Alex just laughed quietly. 

"Ok ok, I'll leave it" Alex conceded, throwing her hands up lightly. 

They continued catching up as their food came and reminded them that they should come more often. They parted ways shortly after and Phil went home spending the whole drive thinking about how kind Alex was to look out for him.


	4. Chapter 4

Dan looked out the window in his bedroom, listening to the birds chirping quietly. He stretched his arms up and looked at the clock. It was just past 10:30 am and he was planning on going to the farmers market later. He got up and pulled on his work out clothes, fitting in some cardio.

Dan made some eggs and fed his fish, poking the side of the tank as if to say hello. They looked up at him and then ignored him promptly. 

He changed out of his clothes and got into the shower, noting that his hair would need to be dyed again soon. He shaved his legs and got out quickly thereafter. He stood in front of his closet and tried to decide between overalls and jeans. After a quick check of the weather, Dan went with the overalls putting a pink shirt under them. 

He made his way out the door after saying goodbye to his fish and grabbing his reusable bags and headed to the farmers market. 

Phil strolled into his house, giggling as he saw his cat asleep on his back in a ray of sunshine. He quietly made his way to the couch and landed on it softly as he turned on the TV. 

He saw on the local news they were hosting a bingo night soon to sponsor the fire department. Phil loved bingo and made note of the date. It would be fun to get out for once, he thought as he flipped around to see what was on. He stopped when he saw 13 going on 30 playing. It was about halfway through but he had it memorized. 

He should really leave the house eventually. It wasn't good to be cooped up all the time. He should just go to the park. 

"Hey Persephone?? do you want to go to the park??"

The cat looked up at his from his sunspot with what can only be described as disdain 

"Alright be like that. I'll go alone then." 

He lifted off the couch and started looking around for his shoes that he had thrown haphazardly around when he came in from brunch. He found them lying in a pile near the stairs and slid them on, grabbing his keys and petting his cat goodbye. 

He got into his car and made the short drive to the park. Phil pulled into a spot and got out, grabbing his water bottle he always brought with him and he made his way to the deserted swings that always stood vacant in the fall. He placed his water bottle by the monkey bars and hopped on a swing, started to push off slowly. He swung lazily for a while, looking up at the clouds and giving them names based on cloud type. All the cumulus clouds were Paul. He looked back across the park and saw some tents set up on the other side of the park he never visited. 

Phil squinted to try to see what was happening but all he saw was a crowd of people around a couple of white tents. He got off the swing and went over to the slide, going down a couple of times and stopping to take a sip of water. He locked up his car and grabbed his backpack, heading towards the mystery tents. 

Dan followed his usual path to the farmers market behind the Rite-Aid. He smiled at his Aunt as he got out of the car

“Hey! How have you been?”   
“Oh hey Darling, I’ve been alright, it’s a little slow today. We have your favorite though! Cantaloupe!” 

Dan beamed and looked over at the selection of melons in the wide array of stands. It was a small couple stands and a few people had backed their trucks in and just lowered the back of the trunk. He looked at the community of people looking at the produce critically. Some of them were standing around talking and laughing. He had always loved how kind the farming community was so he kept coming back every week. Dan walked over to the stand with melons and started lightly smacking them to find one that wasn’t quite ripe so he’d have a few days to eat it. 

“So how’s the new job?”   
“Oh, awful as the last one. I’m so tired of quick-fix jobs, but it’s a paycheck. I honestly can’t figure out how to work any of the computer nonsense”  
Dan’s aunt laughed “Oh dear, do you want me to buy you some sort of book?”  
Dan glared at his slightly before selecting a melon and putting it in his bag and moving to the plums.   
“No, actually I’ve just been calling IT every thirty seconds. This guy, Phil, keeps coming over to show me.”  
“Oh does he?” Her aunt hinted, handing Dan some fresh plums, knowing he’d want to eat them right away.   
“Oh dear God not like that, he’s literally my coworker.”   
Her aunt hummed as he rung Dan up. 

Dan got back in his car and drove home. He passed some large white tents in the park and was curious what was happening, but kept driving.


	5. Chapter 5

Phil's lungs were exhausted by the time he made it to the tents to see what the fuss was about. He wormed his way through the crowd till he could see the sign. It read 'community sale' in bold letters. Though the chatter he kept moving till he reached the front of the crowd. He looked at the variety of different things being sold, it was set up so the profit went to the local chapter of the boys and girls club. He started looking through the piles to see what was around. He picked up an old used doll and an old pair of overalls that looked much too big for him. He figured he could wear them to garden. Phil grabbed a couple more things including a keychain with a flamingo on it and went to check out. He paid quickly and started walking back to his car, holding his new treasures.

Phil eventually collapsed into his car, worn out and sweaty. He attached the keychain to his backpack with a smile. It was so cute and soft to look at, he was so happy he got it. 

He to the Wawa and went in to grab a slurpie, mixing the colors red and blue together. He slipped it as he waited in the check out line, the sugary drinks stained his tongue and he laughed when he saw his reflection in the napkin dispenser by the register. 

After he checked out he headed home, tired from running around but happy he had gotten out of the house without just going to work. 

Dan shoved his backpack onto his shoulders, realizing he was going to be extremely late. He hadn't slept well over the weekend and was so tired he forgot to set his alarm Monday night. He hustled into his car and drove quickly to the office, running about 15 minutes late. 

As he entered the building he took the elevator instead of messing with the stairs. He smiled at everyone he passed and clocked in only half an hour late. His day turned out to be uneventful in general and passed by rather slowly. 

He got up the courage to go to the gym after work and used the elliptical while watching whatever was on TV. He looked around the sweaty Gym and watched two girls helping each other bench press, taking turns spotting each other. He laughed when he saw the receptionists computer showing club penguin. he got off the elliptical and went to the locker room, taking a quick shower and pulling on his lounge clothes before heading home.

Phil was sitting at lunch quietly trying to eat his half a turkey sandwich. He stared out the window and chewed a minuscule bite wondering why he even bothered

His phone started ringing and he picked it up, seeing it was Elli  
"Hello love, is everything ok?"  
Elli laughed "Of course it is, I just wanted to see if you were free tonight?"  
"oh yeah sure where should I meet you?"  
"I'll come to pick you up at like 5:30?"  
Phil looked at the clock, seeing it was almost 2 already "I'll be ready!"   
"Great see you soon love"

Phil closed out the project he was working on and hurried to the bathroom, checking his hair. He went back to his office and turned away from a work notification on his email and went out to his car. He went home and got in the shower, not stopping to greet Persephone

Surely this must mean something? he thought as he washed his hair surely he's going to propose??

He got out of the shower and looked at his hair for a long minute in the mirror before smoothing it down with his hands. He pulled on a red shirt with black hearts as the pattern and his animal print dress shoes. He headed to the main level of his apartment, waiting for Elli

Around 15 minutes later, Elli pulled into the parking garage and Phil ran down the steps to greet him. Elli stepped out of the car to kiss Phil quickly and open the door for him. Phil beamed at the treatment and laughed when he got in and saw Elli playing his favorite song by Muse.

"Remember when we were just meeting back in college and you played their song and I kissed you because I had never met anyone who liked their music like me?" Phil said softly, looking over at Elli 

Elli laughed and nodded, turning right to head towards downtown

Phil continued, "I can't believe it's been two years! I was so nervous when I kissed you that first time in the cafeteria. I couldn't believe you'd like me back." 

Elli looked over at Phil and smiled "Well I did" 

Phil smiled brightly at Ellis bright blue eyes. His short blonde hair not meeting his ears anymore since he got it cut into a low fade. He was wearing jeans and a button-up shirt with lizards on it. This was Phil's future husband he could just feel it. Every time he was with Elli it's like the world melted away.  
They arrived at the restaurant and Elli opened the door for him. Phil held his hand as they entered the restaurant. Elli had reserved a table and they sat down, Phil smiled brightly and picked up the menu, looking at it trying to figure out what he wanted to get. 

They started off with tiny egg rolls and Phil talked about work and how everything was overwhelming for his with month-end closings. Their main course came and Elli smiled at him and talked about how his makeup business was doing and his latest sales. He smiled at Phil

“So I have a tiny bit of surprise” Elli started, pulling something out of his back pocket  
Phil took a deep breath and looked up through his hair at Elli and smiled “Yeah?”  
“It’s not much, but I hope you like it,” Elli said handing Phil a small box  
Phil opened it, eyes wide and breath held. When he saw what was staring back at his he tried so hard not to cry. She looked up at Elli with a wide smile   
“They’re beautiful love, thank you so so much” He looked back down at the diamond tie clip in the small box. He set them down and put his napkin on the table and excused himself to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and just sighed  
“Phil stop being sad this is a wonderful gift. Just because he doesn’t want to marry you doesn’t mean you need to throw a fit like a baby. Just suck it up and enjoy the night.” He wiped his eyes and practiced a big smile before heading back out to the table. 

They had a wonderful night and laughed and Phil was reminded how much fun they could have when they are together. They got back in the car and headed to Phil’s house where they settled onto the couch and watched Wall-e. 

Phil walked through the halls of work, new tie clip shining on his shirt. He made his way to his desk and sat down, carefully straightening the picture of Elli on his desk and smiled at it. Last night had been so perfect it felt like home again. He was reminded of Elli's smile and the way he laughed when he told a joke. His bright eyes and the way his cheeks got rosy when Phil held his hand. Everything came back to Phil. All the good reasons why he stayed.

He made his way through his day without a hitch and eventually it was time for lunch. He headed towards the lunchroom with a sigh and sent Elli a happy text thanking his again for last night.

When he got back to his desk he had some emails to riffle through and he responded to a couple of them quickly and stared out the window and wished he wasn't alone. His office could get kinda lonely. A few minutes later his phone rang and he grabbed his headset and answered it. 

"Hello this is Phil"  
"Oh uh hi it's Dan I need some help again sorry I'm lost"   
"Oh ok just come over to my office there's more room here," Phil said, looking at his boring office  
"Oh haha ok which one are you?"   
"Room 236, just passed the glass doors at the end of the hall" 

Phil hung up the phone after making sure Dan knew where he was going and got up to pull the other chair closer to his desk to make room. He heard a knock on his door and went to open it, looking up to smile at Dan who was clutching a notepad so tightly it looked like it might break. Phil realized he had never seen Dan standing and hadn't noticed how much taller he was. 

After a long moment of realizing he was just staring at Dan, he stepped back, motioning to the chair and closed the door behind him.. Phil took the chair next to Dan and looked at him kindly.

"So what's giving you fits?"   
Dan flipped open his notebook, rifling through the pages "So basically I just can't figure out why nothing is tying out on the monthly report? Like I put all the data in correctly but it comes up weird on the reconciliation?"   
"Oh ok, sounds like a formula error then, no big shakes let me look at it for a second." Phil's quick work found Dan's file quickly and he clicked into it looking around.

The two sat quietly while Phil worked on the process. He went through all the formulas, asking Dan what the goal was behind a few of them before he altered anything. After he had finished, Phil sat back in his chair and looked over at Dan while he pulled open his desk drawer to grab his glasses

Dan glanced into the drawer, seeing a scattering of physical copies of pictures of Phil and some man with cropped blonde hair. He looked down and saw more pictures like it buried under some post-it notes. Was that his guy?

"Who's that?" He couldn't help but ask Phil, pointing to the stack of pictures. 

Phil quickly shut the drawer and looked a little nervous as he stood up quickly "uh it's my boyfriend. not like my friend who's a boy my boyfriend one word we kiss and stuff" he said extremely quickly moving to the other side of his office in a couple of short steps to open some drawers in what seemed like a random haphazard pattern

Dan looked back at the drawer that had been snapped closed and he looked over at Phil  
"Oh that's nice, why don't you hang the pictures up? Wouldn't it be better to have them where you could see them?"

Phil turned back around, looking at the floor with his arms crossed over his stomach. He leaned against the chest of drawers, "I don't really want people knowing. not that being gay is bad or anything I just don't really want everyone having an opinion of me just from that, it's already impossible to be the youngest executive. No one respects me as is, I feel like this would just push it over the edge.” He finished, looking up at Dan through his lashes. 

"Well you're not alone," Dan said, after a minute to think

"I'm sorry?" Phil blinked, moving closer to the other man curiously

"I'm not an executive and I don't even understand what the emails I've seen pop up on your computer are, but I get how you feel. I'm gay too, well, queer, but you get the point, I kiss guys" He said with a tiny laugh to ease the thick tension that hung between them. 

Phil sat back down in the chair next to his and looked at Dan with a small smile "Oh"


	6. Chapter 6

Phil couldn't remember when the sun had set as he looked out at the clouds. Apparently he and Dan had been talking for quite a while. He looked over at Dan 

"I'm so sorry to have kept you, we should probably head home"  
"Oh no actually I enjoyed myself," Dan said, standing up "I'll walk you out?"   
Phil smiled and grabbed his bag, shutting down his computer and heading towards the door. He locked it behind him and they went down the elevator in comfortable silence. Dan followed Phil to his large black truck he had parked in the back of the lot   
"So um would you want my number just in case you want to vent or something?" Dan asked, looking rather tense  
Phil nodded, grabbing his phone and handing it over. Dan quickly typed his name and number in, sending himself a text.   
"Ok cool well text me whenever," Dan said, smiling brightly  
"Definitely. Thanks for today, really” Phil said, looking his in the eyes. Dan could see some redness in them that meant Phil hadn't been sleeping.   
"Oh it's nothing, I hate coding all day, it was nice to have a break"   
"I feel the same way" Phil smiled, opening his car door. Dan stepped back and Phil waved as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

Dan hung back, grabbing his phone and adding Phil's contact information in quickly. He looked up at the sky for a minute, looking at the dark clouds that brewed overhead. He thought it might storm so he made his way back into the building and grabbed his belongings from his desk. The rest of the office was empty and he could see quite a few emails waiting for him to respond to. He just shut off his computer and headed home

Phil clambered into his house, dropping his bag as soon as the rain began and closing the door behind him. He locked it and made his way to his bedroom, not hungry for dinner. He spotted Persephone on his bed and pet his furry head before heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. He collapsed face-first his bed, not bothering with the covers. His head was spinning as his phone started to ring. 

“Hello?”  
“Hi babe, I’m really like thinking about our relationship, can we talk?” Elli said, sounding tired  
“Of course, what’s up?” Phil said, sitting up quickly, hoping this was the moment he was waiting for  
“I’m just thinking we should maybe go out of town together to like reconnect”   
“Oh? Like where?” Phil said, sliding back down onto his pillow   
“Maybe Adventure Park?” Elli said, sounding excited   
“Yeah! That sounds so fun babe, when do you want to go?”   
“Maybe next week?”  
“I’m not sure I can next week, I have to work, that’s kind of short notice.”  
“Oh.” Elli said, sounding distant all of a sudden  
“Maybe the week after that? Would that be ok?”  
“I’ll have to check my calendar, love you” Elli said, hanging up

Phil looked at the end of his bed and stared at the ceiling. He picked up his phone and send a text to Dan on impulse

Phil, 9:04pm: Do you ever feel like you’re not enough for the person you’re dating?  
Dan,9:07pm: Everything ok?   
Phil looked at the text for a minute. He rubbed Perhephones head and watched the cat purred quietly.   
Phil,9:10pm: Yeah just my friend having relationship troubles :p, I don't know what to tell her   
Dan: 9:11pm Oh ok  
Dan: 9:17pm: I don't think that’s normal no. I feel like if you’re feeling sad about your relationship you should have a talk with your partner about why and how it happened. Maybe tell her to have a quick chat about how she’s feeling with her partner?  
Phil read the response a couple of times. He turned over and pulled his comforter over his head and groaned into his pillow. Why did he feel so bad with Elli after having such a good dinner last night? He was the problem here, he just needs to get over himself and be a better boyfriend. He buried his nose into his pillow and fell into a restless sleep 

Phil groaned as his alarm went off. He swayed as he tried to stand, belatedly realizing he had a killer headache. He stumbled to find his curtains and shoved them closed, fumbling back into bed. He grabbed his phone and sent an email to his assistant letting her know that he wouldn't be in today and pulled the comforter over his head. 

A couple of hours later he woke up feeling utterly green with nausea. Phil pulled his comforter back quickly and ran to the bathroom to be sick. He laid on the bathroom floor and wiped his mouth with the back of his pajama sleeve. As he stared at the ceiling, he thought about how much he wanted squash soup. It was all he was craving at that moment of feverish sickness. 

He heard some shuffling coming from the other room and thought maybe Persephone was running around. He lifted his head slightly to see if he could angle his good ear better to hear what was happening. He heard the distant sound of a couple voices filling his apartment living room. He tried to close the bathroom door with his foot so whoever was out there couldn't see him, but he couldn't push it all the way closed. Phil looked at the door in silence wondering why someone would be breaking into his house in the middle of the day on a Wednesday. How did they get in? He left his phone on the bed so he couldn't call for help.

Phil shuffled closer to the bathtub, feeling sick all over again. He pushed himself against the side of the tub, trying to perch himself up. If he was going to die he at least wanted to be found sitting up. He heard footsteps moving closer to him and heard them enter the bedroom. He couldn’t tell if it was one or two people but he held his breath hoping not to be found. He could see slightly through the crack that had been left when he tried to close the door. Phil gently tried to scoot closer to the door to see out of this small opening without making noise. He peered through and saw the back of someone with short blonde hair that just touched his ears. Whoever it was was looking down at the person sitting on the bed. It was a smaller figure with brown hair and he was holding onto the other person's hips. When she stood up to kiss the blond-haired person they turned to the side and Phil saw a piercing he knew too well. It clicked suddenly. Alex and Elli. In his room. When Elli knew Phil would usually be at work. He closed the door silently and slipped into the bathtub, tracing the grout between the tile that lined the walls. 

Alex and Elli.


	7. Chapter 7

numb.

everything crashed through his mind so quickly he couldn't breathe

numb.

he refused to believe this even as he heard his bed creak and quiet moans

numb.

two years of his life. he swore Elli would be the one at the end of the isle

numb.

this couldn't be happening

numb.

he would pretend this hadn't happened

numb.

Phil closed his eyes and felt the cold tile press against his cheek

he grabbed his phone and looked through Ellis Instagram

There were no photos of Phil.

There were only photos of Elli.

He looked at Alex's Instagram. He scrolled and scrolled. He saw nothing about Elli

How could this be so inconsequential to her? How could she strangle the life out of Phil and not even consider this more than a fuck?

Phil looked at Ellis tagged photos. He saw him with the same man over and over that Elli said was just his brother's friend. Phil tapped his profile and saw them together in every picture. Elli was wearing a ring. He smiled. He was also wearing a bracelet Phil bought him for their anniversary.

Phil waited for Elli and Alex to leave with huddled giggles following their voices. His ears rang with raves of anger.

Furious

Phil grabbed Ellis belonging and calmly placed them in a small box

Furious

He placed the box outside his apartment door

Furious

He blocked Elli on all social media and sent one message before blocking his number

Furious

"Your things are outside my door. Do not contact me again. Enjoy Chris. And Alex."

Furious

Phil blocked Alex on every social media and his phone

Furious

He called the locksmith. They would be there in an hour to change his locks


	8. Chapter 8

He screamed. An ugly guttural noise that had been building up in his throat for hours. He screamed until his throat was raw. He screamed until tears ran down his face and his screams turned into sobs

He laid in bed for days. Phil barely ate. He had half eaten granola bars laying on the floor around his bed. He had so many unread emails and notifications every time he checked his phone for the time. Every time he closed his eyes he could see the pictures of Elli and Chris on his phone. How brightly Elli shined next to him. Would his heartache when he found out? Would he lay in his bed completely hollow? Was it Phil's responsibility to tell him? 

He flipped over and landed on his nose to his pillow and groaned. This was the question he was stuck on. Who knew. Did Chris know? How long has this been going on? How could Phil be this naive? How could he let this happen? 

He flipped over again. He was completely Tangled in his sheets at this point and he couldn't care less. His back hit the mattress hard as he memorized his ceiling for the 7th time in however long he'd been lying there. Phil huffed out a big breath and picked up his phone. He quickly scrolled through his long list of notifications and decided just to call his assistant 

"Phil? oh god thank God you're alive what happened are you alright you called out 4 days ago I've been worried sick why aren't you responding?" 

"Jessica please let everyone know I've decided to finally take my paid vacation I have stacked up. I'll talk to you soon" 

Phil hung up quickly after that and fell back against his pillow without a second look at his phone. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan was concerned. Slightly. it was Friday and he's been sending Phil pictures of cats in various funny costumes since Monday with no response. Not that he expected a response. or should expect a response. There was no reason for his to be wandering the halls, hoping to see Phil. Maybe he wasn't by his phone. Maybe his boyfriend and he were staying away. Maybe he was just busy. 

Dan sighed and stared at the wall nothing short of confused.


	9. Chapter 9

It was official. Phil had to go back to work. He looked like hell but four days was too long to be away in the first place. He just rolled out of bed and got in his car and drove straight over without lunch or a plan. He made in record time and when he finally looked at the clock, he realized it was just 6 am. He walked into the building and flopped into his office, burying himself in his work. The next time Phil glanced at the clock it was 12 pm. He opened his drawer to grab his lip balm and saw the pictures of him and Elli. He picked one up and looked at it for a minute before putting it back down and inspecting another one. Was Elli’s smile genuine? How long had this been going on? That was a question that had haunted Phil. He placed the picture down and a memory came through mind of him and Elli laughing when this particular picture was taken. It was early into their relationship and they had gone mini-golfing and stopped to take a picture. 

After staring at a couple more pictures he closed the drawer and slowly tears started falling down his face. His vision blurred in pain and a choked sound made it way out of his throat. He stared at the clock on his phone and started opening the messages he had missed recently. He saw a couple of texts from his mom and responded that he hoped they could meet up and catch up soon. He responded to a couple of friends and saw his feed slammed with messages about Elli and Alex and quickly closed out of social media. He opened his texts and saw some from Dan. Phil smiled as he scrolled through six or seven cats in silly costumes and he wiped the tears from his face quickly and locked his phone. He grabbed his lunchbox and headed towards the breakroom. 

Dan looked at the phone for the 7th time in a couple of minutes. The read flag was taunting his thoughts. He looked at the clock and again at his phone. It was 1 pm. He’d been going to the lunchroom at 1 pm every day for a week hoping to see Phil. Hoping to make sure he was ok. Dan couldn’t pin down exactly what he was worried had happened but he knew it was eating at his middle. His chest ached as he stood and headed towards the lunchroom. He paused briefly to buy a bag of bugles and arrived at the lunchroom, scanning it for a second before spotting Phil. 

Phil was hunched over a small bowl of yogurt. He dipped the spoon in and out of the yogurt, not even really stirring it. Just poking it and looking like he was so far away from where he was seated. Dan debated for half a second before heading over to Phil’s table and sitting across from him. Phil didn’t even look up or notice Dan as he placed down his bugles and shuffled his phone out of his pocket. Dan opened his bugles and started nibbling on the end of one while he scrolled through his social media silently. He kept sneaking glances at Phil while he nibbled the corn chip. 

Eventually, Phil hit the bottom of the yogurt cup so hard that the yogurt spilled over and fell on his hand. This wakes him up from his haze as he licks the yogurt off his hand and glances around. He spots Dan and offers him a small smile as he takes a small bite of the yogurt from the cup. Dan smiles back and goes back to looking at his phone, trying not to frighten Phil. Clearly something had happened to Phil. He was so pale and his hair was sticking up in odd angles, obviously unwashed or brushed for quite some time. He was wearing mismatched pajamas and his eyes were puffy and red. Phil looked like he hadn’t slept properly in days. Dan wondered if he had been sick. Maybe a family member had passed? 

It was none of Dan’s business unless Phil decided to tell him was what Dan ultimately decided. So he started gently placing the bugles on the end of his fingers and he reached over and scraped them over Phil’s hand. Phil jumped and looked over and then saw Dan wiggling his newly made claw hand and smiled brightly. Phil’s smile looked wrong, it was stretched too tightly and looked as though he was just learning how to. Dan laughed in spite of this and popped one of the bugles into his mouth, smiling brightly at Phil.

Phil brought out his phone and started typing quickly before sliding it over to Dan. Dan picked up the phone and saw an open note with some text written. 

“Will you come to dinner with me?” 

Phil looked at his with anticipation as Dan nodded.

“Yeah of course! Where do you want to go?” He said, sliding the phone back over to Phil just in case he didn’t want to talk. 

“Applebees?” Phil typed out and slid it back over quickly, looking slightly more present. 

Dan just nodded and typed out on the screen “It’s a date”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever sorz

Phil leaned against the pillows that lined the back of his bed. He stared at his legs laid out bare in front of him. He looked out the window to the left and then back at his legs. Before he could make a decision his phone vibrated loudly. He picked it up and opened a text from a number he didn't recognize 

"hey it's Elli. I see you blocked my number. I borrowed Chris's phone to text you. I hope you're well"

Phil blinked at the message a couple of times, tears blurring his vision before turning his phone off and crawling under the covers

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan grabbed his phone as soon as he made it home and texted his group chat immediately

DH: I'm having dinner with Phil what do I WEAR  
Sandman(Peter): DSHJDHFD ARE YOU SERIOUS  
PSYCHOBABE: CONGRATS  
siple: maybe jeans?   
siple: also KISS THE G(UY)IRL

Dan laughed and stared into his closet. He suddenly realized he had nothing good enough for this occasion. Although Phil was fine with his work clothes he really wanted to wear something nicer. He picked out a red and blue plaid shirt and black jeans and sent a picture to his friends

Siple: NOT ENOUGH CHEST  
Sandman (Peter): MORE!!! CHEST

Dan unbuttoned a few buttons but felt weird about it so he sent another picture

DH: I feel like this is way too much.   
sandman(Peter): NOT ENOUGH!!!   
DH: nope. locking it down this is borderline inappropriate  
sandman(Peter): =[ but date night  
DH: it's not even a date really though we're just having dinner   
siple: SHALALLALA MY OH MY

Dan sighed and pulled off the plaid shirt. He slipped on a fuzzy purple sweater he owned over some jeans and decided that was good enough. 

Before he left for Applebee's he shot Phil a text saying he was about 15 minutes away and would be there soon. 

Phil's phone vibrated with the text, but he was snoring too loudly to hear it. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan pulled into the parking lot of the Applebee's and checked his reflection quickly in the mirror. He ran his tongue over his teeth one last time before walking in to the restaurant. He told the hostess his date was coming soon and he was seated at a table for two. 

He ordered water and waited for Phil to arrive. As he waited he stared out the window hoping to see Phil's truck 

After 20 minutes Dan was growing restless of waiting. He sent Phil Another message asking if he was alright. Then he put his phone down to tell the waiter that his date would be a few minutes later than anticipated. Dan thought that the waiter was beginning to think the date was made up and he wasn't sure he disagreed.

He ordered an appetizer to buy his some more time and looked at his phone intently

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Phil's eyes squinted, trying to read the clock through his blurry sleep ridden vision. He glanced at his phone and saw he had unread texts from Dan and quickly opened them. 

As soon as he read the first one he had torn back his sheets and fell face-first into the floor trying to get out of bed. He stumbled down the hallway, grabbing his house and car keys and hopping into his shoes, tripping on the untied laces as he raced to his car. 

He lived about 10 Minutes from the Applebee's and hoped he could make it in time. He quickly backed out of the driveway and raced towards the restaurant, hoping to catch Dan. 

He pulled into the parking lot 8 minutes later after carefully ignoring speed limits and clambered out of his car just to trip on his untied laces again as he tried to approach the entrance

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan finally gave up 10 minutes later. He'd waited over half an hour and overstayed his welcome. He grabbed his to-go box of what was left of the appetizer and left the restaurant.

As he was walking to his car, he noticed a crumpled figure next to a large black truck. Whoever it was was wearing pajama bottoms with different shaped cookies on them and a shirt that looked to be about 4 sizes too big on them. As Dan got closer he saw a pair of sneakers he recognized because they were untied 

"Phil?" 

Phil grumbled as he raised his head up slightly "wha-" 

Dan looked at Phil's battered face. He had taken a pretty bad hit from the pavement. Dan got closer and put his bag down, kneeling next to Phil 

"Come here let me see your face"

Phil rolled onto his back so Dan could assess the damage, his eyes slipping closed again. Dan thought he might fall asleep between the shock of the fall and the pajamas he was sporting. 

Dan carefully scanned his body and noticed a tear in the knee of Phil's pajamas and scrapes on his hands. He noted that his nose was probably broken from the fall once he saw the quickly forming bruises along with the amount of blood running down Phil's face. 

"Oh dear. I told you to tie your shoes you know" 

Phil opened his eyes slightly, looking up at Dan but more blearily past him "Dunno how"

"You don't know how?"

Phil slipped his eyes closed again "Nuh uh. Who're you?" 

"It's Dan from work, Phil. How're you feeling, does your head hurt?" Dan said, sitting down next to him on the pavement and gently moving Phil's hair out of the way 

Phil leaned into the touch gently and then scrunched up his face "Mhm. More when I move it" 

Dan looked up at his car and then back at Phil's, "Come on, then you're in no condition to drive. I don't think you have a concussion, but we should probably get you checked just in case" He said, standing back up and pulling his bag over his shoulder and extending an arm to Phil who blinked up at his and lifted his hand limply. 

Dan gently pulled his up and started walking his towards the car on the other end of the lot. Phil still had his eyes mostly closed as he stumbled forward so Dan wrapped an arm around his middle and held his tightly so he wouldn’t fall again. Phil put his head on the side of Dan’s arm making a small noise like he might fall asleep any second. 

“Dannnyyyyy where we going?”   
“We’re going to urgent care”   
“I don't like doctor” Phil looked up at Dan with a pout   
“Put on your seatbelt, honey”   
Dan smiled as he walked to the other side and got into the driver's side, turning the car on and looking over at Phil who was tangled in his seatbelt and looking like he was trying to fight it. 

“Need some help?” Dan laughed, reaching over and untangling it and buckling it around Phil. He took a second to look over Phil, noting how the shirt fell off his body due to the size and his shoes were scuffed on the tops from what looked like several similar falls. He sighed and started the car, ignoring Phil’s mumbling about hating the doctors. 

They arrived at the hospital relatively quickly and Dan pulled into a parking spot and walked to Phil’s side and got him out, leading him inside. They signed in and sat down in the waiting room. Dan handed Phil the paperwork and pulled out his phone. He heard a clattering and looked over to see Phil had fallen asleep holding the pen. Dan nudged him and woke him up, grabbing the sheet, helping him fill it out before he handed it to the receptionist. 

They were called back shortly after that and they were left in an exam room after they took Phil’s vitals. After a short wait, the doctor came in looking tired. She raised her brow as she came to look at Phil covered in blood and half-asleep.

"Oh dear. And what has happened here?"  
"Fell" Phil mumbled before leaning against Dan who stood next to the exam table.   
"He fell on the pavement in the parking lot," Dan said   
"Nuh uh I fell before that"  
"Before that?" the doctor questioned, taking notes on a laptop   
"Yup! Fell in my house." Phil said quietly, closing his eyes. 

The doctor approached Phil and lifted his wrist, noting some bruising and rotating it which earned a whine from Phil. 

She looked at his face and gently pressed against Phil’s nose, watching his expression for signs of discomfort. 

"Alright, a sprained wrist and a broken nose but nothing too bad, I'll order a CAT scan to be on the safe side but he appears fine beyond a small bit tired." The doctor noted, snapping the laptop shut. 

She shook their hands and left the room, leaving them alone once more.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i literally have like 30 more pages of this written but do i post it? no.

Dan looked over at Phil concerned “Why did you fall in your house?”   
“I was rushin’, I was late”   
“You could have just texted, I would have understood,” Dan said, sweeping Phil’s hair out of his face so it wouldn’t get matted to the blood.   
“Elli bugging me”  
“Your boyfriend?”   
“Texted me from his boyfriend phone”  
“Oh?”  
“Danny?”  
“Yes, Phil?”   
“Don’t wanna talk about it”   
“Just close your eyes. They’ll be in soon to take you for the CAT scan. Make sure you ask for something to wash your face with” Dan cautioned him, looking at the mans rapidly bruising face.   
“Mkay. My head hurts”   
“It’ll be okay, they just have to make sure it’s not too hurt and then we can go home, ok?”  
“Oh home. I like home.” Phil scrunched his face “No. Don’t wanna go home and see Elli”   
“Is he at your house?”   
“In a way” Phil mumbled, not explaining further as he opened his eyes to look up at Dan with watery eyes “Can I go with you?” 

Before Dan could answer, there were two quiet knocks on the door before a nurse entered looking at the papers that detailed Phil’s case. “Are we ready for the scan?”   
Phil hopped off the table and stumbled over to the nurse who took his hand and led him out of the room, leaving Dan alone to think.   
Was Dan taking advantage of Phil if he took him home? He clearly wasn’t in his right mind at the moment and it didn’t seem right to take him home. But Phil had looked at him so pleadingly it had almost hurt. 

Dan considered this as he headed towards the cafeteria to grab some coffee. He was beginning to get tired from the stress of the evening and wasn’t sure how long this was going to take. He smiled at the exhausted looking cafeteria worker, grabbing a bag of goldfish on the off chance he could get Phil to eat something after his tests. He walked back to the exam room they had promised to bring Phil back to after he was finished and sat in the chair sipping it quietly. 

Phil arrived back into the room shortly thereafter and Dan smiled at him kindly. The nurse helped Phil back onto the exam table   
“Alright we do have a confirmation on that concussion and a hairline fracture on the wrist along with the sprain. Nothing horrible, but we’re going to give him a sling till he’s a little more present and can handle not moving it in a way that would further the fracture.” The nurse said, securing a sling around Phil’s back and putting his right arm into it. 

“I’ll be right back with the release paperwork” The nurse smiled at Dan, leaving the room

Phil looked over at Dan and saw his cup and put his hand out “Sip?” he said, making grabbing motions at Dan  
Dan passed the coffee over to him and Phil took a long sip and then screwed up his face and handed it back “Coffee” He mumbled before throwing up all down the front of his clothes and on the table he was seated on. He looked up at Dan with tears brimming his eyes “ow” 

Dan hopped off the table and poked his head out of the curtain surrounding Phil’s bed and waved to the nearest nurse “Hey my friend just threw up all over himself?” Dan said as the nurse came in and saw Phil sitting covered in throw up and crying “Oh dear. Must be the concussion” He mumbled, reading Phil’s sheet that was attached to the foot of her bed 

Phil shook his head and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand “‘llergic”   
“Allergic? To what?”   
“Coffee”   
“Oh god” Dan said, looking down at the coffee cup he was holding, “I had no idea”   
The nurse laughed and looked over at Dan “He just has a weak stomach so the acid in coffee gets rejected immediately. He’s not really “Allergic” it’s just too caustic for his stomach”   
The nurse left the room to grab a mop as the first nurse came back with the discharge papers   
“Oh dear what happened here”   
“Coffee accident” Dan said, taking the clipboard to start filling out the information   
“Oh I see, you’ve met “I forget I can’t drink coffee Phil” The nurse laughed   
Dan wondered how everyone here at the hospital seemed to know Phil so well. 

Once they had given Phil a rough wipe down and finished the paperwork they got back into Dan’s car and as he was turning it on Dan made the decision he’d been dreading   
“Ready to go home?” He said, looking at Phil.   
Phil was sound asleep in the passenger's seat, still clutching the seat belt buckle like he was just about to put it on. Dan sighed and leaned over to click it into place. He started driving to his house with a small smile of her head at the sleeping man next to him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Check out the lesbian version of this story ( the og version) in the series above

Dan looked over at Phil and then at his front door. How exactly was he going to get this man into his house? There was so much left unsaid between the two of them and Dan had more than one question in the back of his mind about the event that had happened over the course of the past couple of hours. 

Dan resigned himself to trying to wake Phil up to see if there was a way he could walk inside the house himself. He nudged Phil gently and unbuckled the mans seatbelt. Phil's head lolled to the side as he blinked heavily and frowned. He straightened up slightly and grabbed his head 

"Fuck" he muttered and rubbed his temples, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. 

Dan looked at him curiously "Ready to go in?"

Phil jumped up out of his chair and screamed as Dan started talking and Dan laughed "It’s just me. We're at my house because you really shouldn't be alone right now. How do you feel?"

Phil glared at him from the passengers side "Wonderful. thank you for asking" He looked up at the house in front of him and smiled at the neat bushes that lined the walkway. 

Dan unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car and walking to Phil's side to help him out. Phil leaned against Dan as they walked into the house.

He settled Phil on the couch and then turned on the lights and closed the door behind them. He sighed as Phil’s head lolled over to the side and his eyes closed

“You can’t sleep on the couch, come on” 

Phil’s eyes opened and he blinked at the bright lights. His eyebrows scrunched up as a look of confusion flashed over his eyes “Have to go” 

Dan laughed, “I don’t think you’re going anywhere” 

Phil shook her head and tried to stand up and swayed, trying to find her footing “No no…. Have to go. Have date. Danny. He’s waiting” 

Dan gently grabbed Phil’s shoulder and shook it slightly “I’m right here Phil. You need to get in bed now” 

“Bed?” Phil said, looking at him with a heartbreaking look of confusion. Dan was so grateful he was the one taking care of Phil. His chest felt warm looking at Phil’s face. It was square and soft along the edges. Painted dark purple and blue with bruises spreading out from his nose. 

“Yeah. Bed” He brushed Phil’s hair out of his face and helped him to his own bedroom. He eased the tired man onto the bed and grabbed a pair of sweats for him to wear. He handed them to Phil who looked at him in confusion. He held the clothes up and they fell out of his limp hands. 

Dan sighed deeply and put the clothes back on Phil’s lap, “Are you going to be a limp noodle all night?”

Phil just fell backwards onto the bed and started rubbing his face against the soft blanket that laid on top of Dan’s sheets. Dan rubbed his temple as he contemplated dressing Phil. It felt like crossing a line but he didn’t want Phil to sleep in his bloody, torn clothes. He still smelled like throw up. Dan didn’t really have a choice so he helped Phil into a sitting position and stripped off his shirt. He saw there was dried blood and throw up on Phil’s stomach so he told him to sit still and went to the bathroom to get a rag. When he came back with a wet rag Phil was on the floor sprawled out on his back. 

Dan squinted at the bed and then back at Phil, “How did you even pull that off” 

“Went looking for you.” Phil muttered, shrugging and looking up at him

“But I told you to stay here” Dan muttered back, walking over to help the bruised man back onto the bed and started to clean his stomach and chest of the gross dried bodily fluids. 

“Oh. Sorry” Phil said, closing his eyes, his head falling forward till it was rest against Dan. Dan just laughed softly down at him and laid him back so he could shimmy his pants down and clean his legs. 

Dan gasped as he saw how scratched Phil legs were. He quickly realized he was looking at something incredibly private and quickly wiped down Phil’s legs and pulled on the sweatpants. He helped Phil stand so he could pull back the covers and then laid the man down. He smiled in relief as Phil was finally clean and as comfortable as could be. 

Dan left to rinse out the rag and hang it to dry. He walked into the kitchen to grab some pain relief he was sure Phil would need in the morning and headed back to the bedroom to see Phil sound asleep and cuddling the covers close to himself. He gently set the pills on the table next to himself and then went to the bathroom to get a glass of water. At the last minute he grabbed a trashcan in case Phil was sick in the night. 

Dan settled into the bed beside Phil and picked up the book he had been reading and opened it and started to read. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SMACK

The sound rang out in the quiet room.

“What was that?!” Phil said, waking up  
“You just smacked my face!” Dan said, rubbing his sore cheek  
“Wait where am I?”  
“At my house. You had a bad concussion and couldn’t handle yourself”  
“Oh. That’s why I feel like shit.” Phil groaned as he rubbed his temples.  
Dan handed him the pain meds and a glass of water. Phil looked up a little surprised but accepted the medication. He groaned and laid back down and then opened his eyes  
“Wait what am I wearing?”  
“My sweats”  
“How did I dress myself?”  
“Uh. You didn’t” Dan said quietly, sitting up slightly.  
“You did what” Phil said, looking over at him  
“You couldn’t move and you were covered in blood and vomit I figured you’d rather not sleep in that”  
“Oh. well uh, thank you. Sorry. About everything.” He said, pausing between his sentences and rubbing his head like he was still a little gone.  
Dan gently tucked the blanket around him, “Get some rest, it’s just 4 am”  
Phil closed his eyes with a small smile on his face

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun rose outside of Phil’s window and he looked out into the street. He was alone in the bed with the covers pulled up around his neck. He was overly warm and gently slapped them down so he could breathe. There was a stinging sensation in his eyes as he opened the curtains and looked outside. Phil gasped when he didn’t notice the street around him. He looked back at the bed and saw the glass of water looking at him. He had vague memories of someone giving him a pain reliever in the middle of the night. He rubbed her eyes and started out of the room. 

Phil heard clanking in the kitchen and went to investigate the noise further. He wanted to know where he was. The noises were loud enough to be heard even though Phil was hard of hearing. He looked around the corner before entering the room fully. Just as Phil saw a short haired man stirring something in a bowl he squeaked and ran down the hallway again. Dan heard a small scuffle behind him and turned around

“Phil?” He said, putting down the pancake batter he had been stirring and going after the man.  
“I’m not dressed!” Phil called out from the bedroom. Dan gently opened the door and found Phil with the blankets pulled up over his head  
“Did you take off the sweats?” Dan wondered, walking closer to the tall form of the man lying under the covers.  
“No, but I don't have on Real Clothes” He said as though this was an official outfit.  
Dan laughed and gently held back the covers, “I’m making pancakes!” He announced brightly.  
Phil grumbled and pulled the covers around his face, “What kind”  
“Chocolate chip”  
Phil jumped out of the bed and ran down the hallway towards the kitchen and Dan laughed as he followed Phil. 

Dan laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling and wondering how that had all happened so quickly. He rolled over and smelled the pillow that still smelled like Phil. 

After Phil had left that morning, Dan sat in the kitchen and stared out the window and was unsure of himself. He cleaned the kitchen slowly and thoughtfully and then collapsed on his bed. He hadn’t had anyone over since he had moved to the area and he was confused as to how Phil had ended up in his bed the night before. He was overcome with a sense of worry suddenly, thinking about how Phil had gotten home. He shot a quick text the older man’s way. There was a quick response that he had gotten home perfectly safe and fine. There was a sigh of relief from Dan as he flopped back down onto his bed. He did not like the worried feeling sitting deep in his chest when he thought about what might happen to Phil.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for vomit

Phil rubbed his head as he wretched into the toilet again. He was reminded of the day when he had found out about Elli. His heart burned at the thought of his ex and tears stung his eyes from more than his sickness. He missed Elli. He missed his short hair and his gentle smile and his kind words, no matter how rare they were. The deep feeling of pain lingered when he saw pictures of Elli. There was no returning to how things had been when they were together. He knew he had to reconstruct his life, but the thought made him queasy. Or maybe he was just going to be sick again. He pressed his cheek to the side of the cool porcelain bathtub and waited for the waves of nausea to pass. 

When he got up, he saw the diamond tie clip sitting on his dresser. He walked over to it and held it in his hand. Something broke inside him looking at that clip and his vision blurred with tears. He fell to his knees and cried heavily weighted sobs into the empty room. He collapsed forward onto his hands, dropping the clip and watching it bounce till it landed under his dresser.

_ Why am I so unlovable _ he thought to himself as he continued to sob  _ what did I do to drive him away. What did I do wrong. What’s wrong with me _

He continued to sob till it left him exhausted and asleep on the floor, still smelling like hell. 

* * *

Dan collapsed into his cubicle and clocked in. He filtered through a plethora of emails and began his work for the day. He saw an email notification from Phil. He opened it and saw a picture of a cat 

_ Monday,, May 20th, 2019 08:10 am _

From: PLester [ @companyhealth.com ](mailto:DHowell@companyhealth.com)

To:  [ DHowell@companyhealth.com ](mailto:DHowell@companyhealth.com)

_ Subject: Happy Monday!  _

_ _

_ It’s not a happy monday. I'm exhausted.  _

_ Also thank you for not letting me die in an Applebee’s parking lot.  _

_ X, _

_ Phil _

Dan read the email a couple times before responding. He wanted to make sure he said just the right thing. 

_ Monday, May 20th, 2019 08:19 am _

From:  [ DHowell@companyhealth.com ](mailto:DHowell@companyhealth.com)

To:  [ PLester@companyhealth.com ](mailto:PLester@companyhealth.com)

_ Re:Subject: Happy Monday!  _

_ No problem. Can’t have an executive dying in his kitty cat pajama pants. Imagine the headlines.  _

_ X, Dan _

Dan considered how to sign the email for a good 5 minutes before just deciding to copy Phil. He didn’t want to make anything awkward. His leg bounced under the desk he sat (in)patiently at. He wondered if he had crossed a line as he waited and waited. Half an hour passed and he decided to try to accomplish some work before he was fired. 

His excel broke about an hour later. He called IT and asked Brandon to help him. Brandon came over and fixed it quickly and told him to buy a book on how to work to system. He flipped him off as he turned to leave. 

Dan laid his head down on his desk as it reached lunch time and he was running out of steam. His hair flopped forward, covering his face and lulling him to sleep in the darkness it created. He was startled back to reality by a small finger poking into his back. He whipped around to see Phil looking disheveled and holding a bright red dress shoe with the heel in one hand and the shoe in the other. He grimaced at Dan when he saw he had been sleeping.

“Sorry!! I just can’t figure out how to fix this and I have a meeting in ten minutes” Phil whispered apologetically, signing sorry on his chest with sign language. 

“Oh no, it’s no problem,” Dan said groggily, wiping the drool from his mouth. “Come on, I have some super glue in my car.”

Phil followed behind him, holding his shoes in his hands. He was wearing a skintight bright red dress shirt to match the shoes. His hair was swept back with gel and he looked pale and exhausted. Dan jangled his keys in her hand as they exited the elevator and walked to his car. He found some super glue in the backseat as Phil handed him the shoe.

“I’m sorry to drag you away on break” Phil said, smiling at the man across from him

“Oh no it’s fine, I wasn’t on break, I’m just awful at my job. Also, you don't need to apologise every thirty seconds.” Dan said, focusing on attaching the heel on straight so it would be stable for Phil to walk with. 

Phil laughed loudly at Dan’s joke and leaned against his car, slightly worried he had annoyed Dan with his apologies. 

“Why’d you come find me? Do I seem manly enough to have tools?” Dan joked at Phil, holding the shoel together.

“Oh! NO! No no no not at all no I just don’t know anyone cause no one likes me and they all make fun of me i can see them calling me deaf guy and stuff they think i cant but i totally can i read lips i'm very good ive been deaf my whole life and like they think i'm just a twit cause I’m only 21 and thats not true i'm not a twit well i am but not about my job i'm dumb about everything else and also like i just have an inability to make friends and then when i do talk to someone i fuck it up-” Phil stopped suddenly, blushing crimson and looking at is bare foot on the pavement. 

Dan laughed loudly “Deaf guy isn’t even original or creative” 

Phil laughed with him, “I know right!? Don’t these 40 year old people have anything else to talk about?” 

Dan handed him the shoe, “I guess you’re just too good of gossip. If only they knew about your kitty cat pajamas.” He smiled broadly at Phil who blushed deeper 

“I hate you.” Phil muttered, slipping on his other shoe, “Ooo! It’s perfect thank you!! Thank you so much!” He leaned over and hugged Dan briefly before turning and running into the building to make it to his meeting. 

Dan watched him go with a broad smile on his face as the younger man's touch lingered. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
